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FWOAC 40: G.I. Joe Retaliation

This episode of Filmcast Without a Cause should be considered a choking hazard for children under 5 with a review of G.I. Joe: Retaliation... Okay that was a reach. IN THE NEWS! China and the U.S.A. will screen different Iron Man 3s, The Wolverine's bizarre marketing rollout, and who's excited for an Independence Day sequel? In the special segment: Jacob and Pat talk Hollywood franchising our childhoods.

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As I type this it has been roughly 24 hours since I took my reserved seat to see John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. A title and naming convention that lays out how much the filmmakers are aware of the monster they've created.

Normally, I'd save all my thoughts for the podcast but the John Wick series is special and this third installment illuminates something I've been failing to decode from the films. Parabellum is an aggregation of, and homage to, the films that came before it. This isn't a judgement on the quality of the film, simply a statement of fact. Look no further than the connection to Casablanca, the Raid films, and my favorite head-nod; the ceremonial film final fight.
Parabellum picks the perfect actor and martial arts personality to counter John Wick for the climactic battle of the film. Who may you ask? Mark Dacascos. Before you Google Mr. Dacascos, you know him from the Food Network's American version of Iron Chef. He was the ceremonial figurehead…

If I had seen Eric Steel’s 2006 documentary The Bridge at a different time in life, I have no doubts that I would have been impressed by it without reservations. Steel hired a team of cameramen to film the Golden Gate Bridge for one year, focusing explicitly on the people who chose the bridge as the location for their suicide. Steel then interviewed the families and friends of the deceased to try and deduce the conditions and events that lead to that person ending their life. It’s a haunting, effective film that has the power to stimulate discussion about mental illness, exhibitionism, and the various factors that can lead to a suicide. The fact that I came to The Bridge through a graduate class on documentary ethics, however, means that the film is presented to me along with additional information about the making of the film.